On September 01 2009 15:22 Roffles wrote: I'm a huge fan of Liszt. The man was a ridiculous virtuoso, but damn his pieces are ridiculously insane. If you've got less than like an 11 key span, then you might as well give up on most of his pieces.
That being said, I really love La Campanella. Such a refreshingly beautiful piece, and a pretty hard one too.
that's really not true i struggle to reach 10 and i consider myself a liszt specialist his compositions actually do not often contain big chords; what they do often request are painfully prolonged and rapid octave passages, but most people can reach an octave pretty easily. it then becomes question of how you utilize your wrists. in fact, first hand accounts point out that liszt, contrary to popular assumption, did not possess a large hand (i remember reading that he struggled reach the left hand chord at the end of the slow mov of hammerklavier -- which if i recall correctly is an awkward 10th with min 6th in the middle) composers that DO often befuddle the not-so-well-endowed with their requests include rachmaninoff, scriabin, and some lunatic modern composers. in such cases, i just give up and roll the chords (or break them)
la campanella is a nice introduction to the liszt but i think there is a universal charm in the raw fury of his 12 trascendental etudes -- at least that was what got me first hooked on liszt when i was a naive 10 year old
On September 01 2009 15:22 Roffles wrote: I'm a huge fan of Liszt. The man was a ridiculous virtuoso, but damn his pieces are ridiculously insane. If you've got less than like an 11 key span, then you might as well give up on most of his pieces.
I have Chopin-sized hands myself (read: relatively small) and I would never say give up on a piece if you can't make all the stretches.
To date I've performed maybe half a dozen pieces in front of an audience where I intentionally removed notes from big chords. No one can ever tell. The OCD purist in me doesn't like removing notes, but my ears never cared.
I unfortunately have to do this a lot because my favorite piano music is from Prokofiev.
On September 01 2009 15:14 Wala.Revolution wrote:And since TheMusiC mentioned ballets, I only heard of The Nutcracker Suite and the famous melody from Swan Lake. But I already am aware of Stravinsky's Firebird and his rather infamous Rite of Spring, so any recommendations are welcome.
As long as my mind's on Prokofiev...
Definitely check out Porkofiev's ballet: Romeo and Juliet.
At first avoid the ballet music itself; instead listen to the Romeo and Juliet orchestral suites. The music directly from the ballet is like listening to a movie score by watching the movie itself, while the orchestral suites are more like listening to a movie soundtrack on CD.
And if you can, check out the ten piano pieces from Romeo and Juliet. Folk Dance and Montegues & Capulets are lovely.
I'll have to double check, but I think my favorite recording for the orchestral suite is done by conductor Neeme Jarvi. My favorite pianist for the 10 piano pieces is Frederic Chiu (in fact, Chiu's complete Prokofiev recordings are absolutely essential).
I’m not sure if you’re interested in individual recordings, so I’ll stick to sets for the moment.
On September 01 2009 13:59 Wala.Revolution wrote: It seems I can get good deals while in Korea, so I'm asking you guys to give me the most "conventional" recordings of the following pieces
Symphonies
Mahler Tchaikvsky Shostachovich (Mravinsky I guess?) Brahms
Tchaikovsky = Mravinsky for everything he recorded (i.e. 4-6), Markevitch for the rest. The stereo Mravinsky/Leningrad set on DG should be fine and is about as ‘authentic’ as you can get.
Shostakovich: as far as integral sets go, Barshai is a relatively neutral set. Kondrashin is a great unrestrained set. Haitink and Jansons are more conservative. Mravinsky is great for everything he recorded, but sound issues.
Brahms: Jochum (in reasonable mono /w BPO) is my favourite set in decent sound. I remember someone calling them the set Furtwangler would have made. Jochum has stereo set of 1-3 on EMI which is good, but not as good. Sanderling/SD is the obvious stereo choice and one of the few things Grammophone got right. Klemperer/Philharmonia is great with the famous no. 1, but aside from that I rather the above two. I absolutely love the van Beinum I’ve heard, and understand he has a full set. Gave away the rest of my sets. You might go with Haitink for good sound. I prefer the Levine to Solti if you want the CSO. Hmm, still feel like I’m missing someone though =/.
Mahler: sorry, don’t have any full sets.
On September 01 2009 13:59 Wala.Revolution wrote: Piano Sonatas
Mozart Beethoven For these two, I aquired only Glenn Gould's complete recordings, but his #8 3rd mvmt of Mozart's and 3rd mvmt of Pathetique (especially the latter) seems perfect to me. Fast Moonlight mvmt is refreshing too
Don’t really care for many of Mozart’s sonatas, the concertos are much more interesting. I’m happy with Wurtz (not great sound though for 1999) as my single complete set.
As for the New Testament the following sets are compulsory: Annie Fischer (Hungaraton) Gulda (Amadeo) Gilels (incomplete; DG) Kempff (mono cycle) Backhaus (mono cycle) Schnabel (Naxos) Arrau (Philips) Brendel (Vox and late Philips) Yves Nat (EMI) Frank (M&A) Barenboim (DVD) Solomon (incomplete)
That should be a reasonable foundation.
On September 01 2009 13:59 Wala.Revolution wrote: Violin Concertos
Beethoven Tachaikovsky Mendelsshon Bruch Dvorak
The good thing about violinists is the big four are pretty consistent (certainly much more than pianists like Horowitz, Richter etc). Maybe Oistrakh or Milstein are more so, but I haven’t heard a recording without merit by Heifetz or Grumiaux.
Beethoven = Grumiaux/van Beinum (good mono) wins for me. Otherwise any of Milstein’s recordings will do. My favourite Tchaikovsky is the Spivakov/Ozawa (EMI) but I’ve probably got a bit of first recording bias. Kogan or Oistrakh will both do. Oistrakh/Kondrashin (good mono) take the Mendelssohn for me, but they’re on the romantic side of things. Kyung Wha Chung, Francescatti, Heifetz/Munch are all great. Bruch goes to Heifetz/Sargent (accompanied by an even better Scottish Fantasy). I’m happy enough with the Suk/Neumann (Ancerl is meant to be better though) and Milstein (mono and stereo) recordings I have of the Dvorak. You might be able to do better.
So I bought: Karajan Symphony Edition Tchaikovsky's 4th, 5th, and 6th (Mravinsky/Leningrade) The Planets+Strauss' Don Juan coupled (Karajan/Wiener) Ma Vlast (Kubelik/Bavarian Radio, from Orpheo)
err I think that's it. I went to three record stores and fround some other interesting ones (Juilini's Brahms, which supposedly is a hard find), etc but I wasn't sure whether that particular set was the one others recommended to me.
I only listened to Tchaikovsky's 4th and 6th Symphony, but I am disappointed in the 4th/4th movement. I previously heard Tilson Thomas/SFS and Barenboim/CSO on youtube before, but it seemed way too fast and too articulate or something. I don't know how to describe it but it just was lacking although I was both amazed and irritated by its speed.
6th was phenomenal though, but I couldn't go through it all.
Now I'm busy looking for deals and which sets to buy while ripping with EAC to flacs and happily storing them while I go around (in reality) looking!
Oh and if anyone can give me recommendations on Oboe/Flute Concerto please do. I only have Mozart's Clarinet/Horn/Flute No. 1 and want to hear some more... Woodwind/Brass concertos (or Percussion, but they are hard to find).
And I also need advice on 'Band' pieces. I found a recording of Cleveland Symphonic winds with two of Holst's pieces but I wasn't sure whether to buy it because I'm not sure if CSW was reputable or not.
Thanks for all your help!
P.S. Is there a word for woodwinds+brass? In Koreans there's a word 관악기 which means instruments with hollow inside as opposed to strings.
eh wind concerti for me are generally very boring, unless i'm playing one ;p
they're generally not performed very often, and they certainly don't have the prestige or pedigree of the big string/piano concerti, i.e. tchaikovsky/sibelius violin concertos, the rachmaninov piano concertos, and so on and so forth.
for oboe concertos -- go for haydn (might be boring), mozart (also might be boring), vaughan-williams (very cool), leon goosens, and definitely the strauss concerto. i don't know much else about others... although i love the aaron copland clarinet concerto.
what do you mean by woodwinds+brass? generally in orchestra that's what we call them... woodwinds and brass lol. a lot of times though you'll hear people call them winds (i.e. when conductors want the strings to sit out, they'll say "winds only"), but for the most part it's just woodwinds and brass. if you're talking about ensembles (kinda like your high school concert band), they're usually either called wind ensembles or wind symphonies.
as far as "band" pieces go, most of them are garbage imo (and i went to a big, big band school for high school in texas). there are several good pieces though -- anything by alfred reed (russian christmas music in particular is amazing), john mackey (turbine is one of my favorites), frank ticheli, eric whitacre, and stay the fuck away from sousa... the guy just pumped out volumes and volumes of trash ;p. lincolnshire posy by percy grainger is also probably the most standard piece in band literature; when people talk about great/influential band pieces, lincolnshire will almost always be mentioned (although i'm not particularly a fan of it).
On September 01 2009 15:22 Roffles wrote: I'm a huge fan of Liszt. The man was a ridiculous virtuoso, but damn his pieces are ridiculously insane. If you've got less than like an 11 key span, then you might as well give up on most of his pieces.
That being said, I really love La Campanella. Such a refreshingly beautiful piece, and a pretty hard one too.
that's really not true i struggle to reach 10 and i consider myself a liszt specialist his compositions actually do not often contain big chords; what they do often request are painfully prolonged and rapid octave passages, but most people can reach an octave pretty easily. it then becomes question of how you utilize your wrists. in fact, first hand accounts point out that liszt, contrary to popular assumption, did not possess a large hand (i remember reading that he struggled reach the left hand chord at the end of the slow mov of hammerklavier -- which if i recall correctly is an awkward 10th with min 6th in the middle) composers that DO often befuddle the not-so-well-endowed with their requests include rachmaninoff, scriabin, and some lunatic modern composers. in such cases, i just give up and roll the chords (or break them)
la campanella is a nice introduction to the liszt but i think there is a universal charm in the raw fury of his 12 trascendental etudes -- at least that was what got me first hooked on liszt when i was a naive 10 year old
I've got proportionally large hands, compared with the rest of my body, and I still cheat on a lot of stuff whenever I play Liszt (tee hee ^_^).
On August 28 2009 10:39 Saracen wrote: That being said, Beethoven violin concerto, please. Probably one of the more underrated violin concertos, and my personal favorite.
Funny, that's the romantic concerto I probably like Heifetz least in.
That's true (I have first recording bias for slower versions e.g. Menuhin, and I've only really listened to Heifetz's recording of the third movement - however, the first is by far my favorite), but I still prefer him over any other for the Sibelius. Also, I listened to his recording of the Bruch Concerto, and then I listened to Milstein's recording, and it ...just wasn't the same... Same with Wieniawsky's Scherzo Tarantelle...
Bruckner was mentioned a couple times, but never really discussed in depth. I personally haven't listened to too much Bruckner, but I was thinking of getting into him a bit more.
Any recommendations of conductors/orchestras/specific performances for Bruckner? I'm thinking of just going with Symphonies 7 -8 as a starting point, and then expanding more. I currently only have two Karajan versions of 7 and 8, 7th with Berlin and 8th with Vienna.
4 Mb 001. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Requiem (K. 626) - Lacrimosa.mp3 8 Mb 002. Johann Sebastian Bach - Matthäus Passion (BWV 244) - Erbarme Dich.mp3 9 Mb 003. Ludwig van Beethoven - Piano Concerto No. 5 (Op. 73) - Adagio Un Poco Mosso.mp3 6 Mb 004. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Klarinettenkonzert (K. 622) - Adagio.mp3 10 Mb 005. Antonio Lucio Vivaldi - Le Quattro Stagioni (Op. 8, RV 269) - La Primavera.mp3 7 Mb 006. Johann Pachelbel - Kanon In D.mp3 6 Mb 007. Johann Sebastian Bach - Matthäus Passion (BWV 244) - Wir Setzen Uns Mit Tränen Nieder.mp3 4 Mb 008. Antonøn Dvo?βk - New World Symphony (Op. 95) - Largo.mp3 11 Mb 009. Sergej Vassiljevitsj Rachmaninoff - Piano Concerto No. 2 (Op. 18) - Adagio Sostenuto.mp3 15 Mb 010. Tomaso Giovanni Albinoni - Adagio In Sol Minore.mp3 8 Mb
011. Johann Sebastian Bach - Matthäus Passion (BWV 244) - Kommt, Ihr Töchter.mp3 8 Mb 012. Georg Friederich Händel - Messiah (HWV 56) - Hallelujah.mp3 13 Mb 013. Ludwig van Beethoven - Symphony No. 7 (Op. 92).mp3 4 Mb 014. Edvard Hagerup Grieg - Peer Gynt Suite No. 1 (Op. 46) - Morgenstemning.mp3 5 Mb 015. Gustav Mahler - Symphony No. 5.mp3 12 Mb 016. Ludwig van Beethoven - Symphony No. 9 (Op. 125).mp3 5 Mb 017. Johann Sebastian Bach - Jesus Bleibet Meine Freude (BWV 147).mp3 9 Mb 018. Samuel Osborne Barber - Adagio For Strings.mp3 7 Mb 019. Johann Sebastian Bach - Orchestersuite Nr. 3 (BWV 1068) - Air.mp3 3 Mb 020. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Die Zauberflöte (K. 620) - Der Vogelfänger Bin Ich Ja.mp3 5 Mb 021. Carl Orff - Carmina Burana - O Fortuna.mp3 5 Mb 022. Giulio Caccini - Ave Maria.mp3 3 Mb 023. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Ave Verum Corpus (K. 618).mp3 12 Mb 024. Bed?ich Smetana - Mβ Vlast - Vltava.mp3 3 Mb 025. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake (Op. 20) - ????????? ?????.mp3
8 Mb 026. Johann Sebastian Bach - Weihnachtsoratorium (BWV 248) - Jauchzet, Frohlocket.mp3 6 Mb 027. Georges Bizet - Les PΩcheurs De Perles - Au Fond Du Temple Saint.mp3 10 Mb 028. Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi - Nabucco - Va, Pensiero.mp3 14 Mb 029. Maurice Ravel - Boléro.mp3 8 Mb 030. Gabriel Urbain Fauré - Cantique De Jean Racine (Op. 11).mp3 9 Mb 031. Johann Sebastian Bach - Toccata E Fuga (BWV 565).mp3 5 Mb 032. Clément Philibert Léo Delibes - Lakmé - Duo Des Fleurs.mp3 3 Mb 033. Charles-Franτois Gounod - Ave Maria.mp3 6 Mb 034. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (K. 525).mp3 4 Mb 035. Ludwig van Beethoven - Fⁿr Elise (WoO 59).mp3 3 Mb 036. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Die Zauberflöte (K. 620) - Der Hölle Rache Kocht In Meinem Herzen.mp3 2 Mb 037. Johann Sebastian Bach - Orchestersuite Nr. 2 (BWV 1067) - Badinerie.mp3 8 Mb 038. Max Christian Friedrich Bruch - Violinkonzert Nr. 1 (Op. 26) - Allegro Moderato.mp3 8 Mb 039. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Requiem (K. 626) - Introitus.mp3 6 Mb 040. Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi - Aida - Marcia Trionfale.mp3 7 Mb 041. Giovanni Battista Pergolesi - Stabat Mater.mp3 10 Mb 042. Ludwig van Beethoven - Symphony No. 6 (Op. 68).mp3 5 Mb 043. Georg Friederich Händel - Messiah (HWV 56) - For Unto Us A Child Is Born.mp3 15 Mb 044. George Gershwin - Rhapsody In Blue.mp3 7 Mb 045. Charles Camille Saint-Saδns - Danse Macabre.mp3 5 Mb 046. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Vesperae De Dominica (K. 321) - Laudate Dominum.mp3 4 Mb 047. Georg Friederich Händel - Wassermusik (HWV 348-350).mp3 11 Mb 048. Ludwig van Beethoven - Piano Concerto No. 5 (Op. 73) - Rondo.mp3 8 Mb 049. Antonio Lucio Vivaldi - Le Quattro Stagioni (Op. 8, RV 293) - l'Autunno.mp3 6 Mb 050. Ludwig van Beethoven - Symphony No. 5 (Op. 67).mp3
076. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Piano Concerto No. 1 (Op. 23) - Allegro Non Troppo E Molto Maestoso.mp3 4 Mb 077. Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini - Turandot - Nessun Dorma.mp3 5 Mb 078. Niccol≥ Paganini - Concerto Pour Violon No. 1 (Op. 6).mp3 9 Mb 079. Gabriel Urbain Fauré - Requiem (Op. 48) - In Paradisum.mp3 8 Mb 080. Joaquøn Rodrigo Vidre - Concierto De Aranjuez - Adagio.mp3 4 Mb 081. Pietro Mascagni - Cavalleria Rusticana - Intermezzo.mp3 6 Mb 082. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Die Zauberflöte (K. 620) - Overture.mp3 3 Mb 083. Johann Sebastian Bach - Wachet Auf, Ruft Uns Die Stimme (BWV 140).mp3 3 Mb 084. Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi - La Traviata - Libiamo Ne' Lieti Calici.mp3 13 Mb 085. Christoph Willibald Ritter von Gluck - Orfeo Ed Euridice - Dance Of The Blessed Spirits.mp3 14 Mb 086. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Konzert Fⁿr Flöte, Harfe Und Orchester (K. 299) - Allegro.mp3 5 Mb 087. Ennio Morricone - C'era Una Volta Il West (Once Upon A Time In The West).mp3 3 Mb 088. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - 23. Klavierkonzert (K. 488) - Adagio.mp3 3 Mb 089. Georg Friederich Händel - Solomon (HWV 67) - The Arrival Of The Queen Of Sheba.mp3 7 Mb 090. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Requiem (K. 626) - Domine Jesu Christe.mp3 9 Mb 091. Johann Strauss, Jr. - An Der Schönen Blauen Donau (Op. 314).mp3 5 Mb 092. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Klarinettenkonzert (K. 622) - Rondo.mp3 14 Mb 093. Jean Sibelius - Finlandia (Op. 26).mp3 6 Mb 094. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Krönungsmesse (K. 317) - Agnus Dei.mp3 3 Mb 095. Erik Alfred Leslie Satie - Gymnopédie No.1.mp3 3 Mb 096. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Le Nozze Di Figaro (K. 492) - Voi, Che Sapete Che Cosa E Amor.mp3 9 Mb 097. Aram Ilich Khachaturian - Spartacus - Adagio Of Spartacus And Phrygia.mp3 16 Mb 098. Max Christian Friedrich Bruch - Violinkonzert Nr. 1 (Op. 26) - Adagio.mp3 15 Mb 099. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - 23. Klavierkonzert (K. 488) - Allegro.mp3 6 Mb 100. César-Auguste-Jean-Guillaume-Hubert Franck - Panis Angelicus.mp3
Of course, we want to keep it legal, so just use the list as a guide. It has many good songs in it that you can listen to on youtube or buy, whether online or as a cd.
I asked my violin teacher awhile back on some of his favorite recordings and he gave me these recommendations (he used to be a sound engineer back in the Soviet Union) ... sorry I don't have the actual titles since I haven't started listening to them yet. I believe this is only violin stuff (classical obviously). His favorite violinist btw is Yehudi Menuhin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yehudi_Menuhin, so I'm willing to bet there are a few of his stuff in here. Also, I asked specifically for good recordings, so I would hope these are well done recordings.
On September 25 2009 04:36 Carnivorous Sheep wrote: Any recommendations of conductors/orchestras/specific performances for Bruckner? I'm thinking of just going with Symphonies 7 -8 as a starting point, and then expanding more. I currently only have two Karajan versions of 7 and 8, 7th with Berlin and 8th with Vienna.
Jochum, Wand, Karajan (with the VPO), Celibidache, Bohm, Skrowaczewski, Tintner, Klemperer, Chailly, Furtwangler, Haitink, Schuricht, van Beinum, Asahina and Horenstein have all made variously great Bruckner recordings.
I haven't heard the Karajan/VPO 8th for a long time (I think the the sound is a bit off?) but it's one of the most famous Bruckner recordings. The Giulini is great as well (best sound of all my favorites). I'm also particularly fond of Wand in this symphony, both from the NDR cycle and his BPO recording.
As for No. 7, Karajan/VPO is very famous. You might look to a version like Blomstedt for something more reserved.
Also, definitely don't forget to get around to the String Quintet as well as the symphonies.
On September 25 2009 05:55 lac29 wrote: I asked my violin teacher awhile back on some of his favorite recordings and he gave me these recommendations (he used to be a sound engineer back in the Soviet Union) ... sorry I don't have the actual titles since I haven't started listening to them yet. I believe this is only violin stuff (classical obviously). His favorite violinist btw is Yehudi Menuhin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yehudi_Menuhin, so I'm willing to bet there are a few of his stuff in here. Also, I asked specifically for good recordings, so I would hope these are well done recordings.
All of that list is Menuhin I believe. If you're talking about sound quality by "good recordings" you can throw away the Biddulphs and his EMI recordings with Furtwangler. In general, after 1950 I tend to avoid Menuhin due to his intonation problems, and unfortunately all his studio EMI's date from this period.
EPT
